I have lived near El Rancho for over 24 years. Prior to that the Historic building at El Rancho housed our neighborhood's post office. Our neighborhood has a community water district and used to hold meetings at El Rancho as it was also a meeting space. The building housed offices upstairs, a restaurant, bar, and gift shop on the main level, and banquet space (and post office) down stairs. It was marketed as 'Historic El Rancho' as it was an important stop along Hwy 40 before I-70 was developed and a frequent stop for travelers after I-70 came through. It housed numerous pictures, signs, and artifacts from the surrounding area collected since 1948. El Rancho's 'Colorado Deck' was also THE place to go for Mother's Day brunch; and Sunday's all through the summer.
When the area across Hwy 74 was developed (Home Depot, restaurants, car wash, etc) our view of the night sky to the east was washed out. Since then, traffic noise has also substantially increased in the area. There are at least 6 gas stations in Evergreen and it seems like a dozen gas stations in Idaho Springs (only 12 minutes away). It seems like the town is mostly convenience stores for I70. The LAST thing residents of this area want is to be another Idaho Springs. With many people switching to EV's, we do not need yet another place that sells fuel. Neither do I70 travelers. We have our own Mountain Character with numerous old tall pine trees on every lot, native grasses and wildflowers, abundant wildlife grazing, and dirt trails connecting neighbors. Those are the reasons everyone moves here, not concrete, bright lights, and more asphalt!
IF a convenience store is to be built, it should be on the site of the old Park N Ride and/or Observatory and limited in size (No Larger than Jenny's Market is needed). This is a convenient location where Westbound I70 and Southbound Hwy 74 traffic can turn right and right again into the store. Then they can exit the parking lot right to I70 Westbound or merge onto 74 Southbound without waiting at a light. It is unlikely as many I70 Eastbound travelers will exit for it due to the separation of the ramps. The proposed QT on the other side would create long lines to wait at the current light to get back onto I70 Eastbound, and necessitate stopping more traffic that is traveling on/off thru Hwy 74. This is an up hill slope, which would make it difficult for semis to take off quickly, causing few vehicles to get through per light change.

I don't want a truck stop in Evergreen. I am concerned about safety.

Evergreen is a small mountain and does not need a service station of this size. There are plenty of gas stops in Idaho Springs and Golden and already in Evergreen and no need for anything like this. It will ruin the aesthetic and tear up more of the land which nicely camouflages the i70 exits.

Local business over large truck corporations
We want to keep our off ramp as is.

Safety! Keep our exit safe with locals

Do not turn local businesses into corporate, this will turn the intersection and area into a massive truck stop. Increasing traffic and hurt the environment.

El Rancho is iconic. It would be a travesty to demolish it. Because the establishment is authentic, it should be retained. Any investment should be to assure its success as a stopping place off I-70. It has history and a sense of place. You can’t re-create authenticity. Please preserve it and don’t ruin the access to Evergreen with meaningless over development.

a truck stop, or any gas station that large, does not belong in Evergreen.

Keep Evergreen small

Keep Evergreen small

I want to preserve an important and historical part of the evergreen area mountain culture

I want to see the historical site preserved, not moved.

I don’t want to see a truck stop/gas station and the associated problems in Evergreen.

The amount of congestion and traffic this stop will lead to will plague evergreen for generations. This area can not accommodate this level of traffic.

Keep El Rancho
No truck stop

The intersection for the planned project is already very busy and potentially dangerous at times. This project will increase the traffic exponentially and negatively impact the businesses already established around the intersection. Also, as the main thoroughfare into Evergreen the parkway will become extremely congested from the additional interstate traffic.

I do not was trucks and more traffics on our small roads. Also the impact on the wildlife. There are enough Elk and deer getting hit on the roads already.

The El Rancho building should be a historical site. The owners will never move the building.

To preserve some history. It’s a beautiful location that deserves to stay special. Began going to El Rancho in the 90’s.

a QT is a horrible idea as it diminishes the mountain quality of our Foothills. The area is heavily forested and the potential of a fuel spill could be disastrous for the entire Foothills area.

We do not want to see historic El Rancho and the surrounding area ruined by this development project. It would be such a shame.

We have been patrons of El Rancho for over 40 years and don't want it replaced by a gas station. Gas stations will be obsolete soon anyway.

The proposal is detrimental to our community

As a 15 year resident of Evergreen, that exit from I-70 is already extremely hazardous- because of Walmart, McDonald’s, Home Depot, etc. Introducing a high volume of 18-wheelers into the mix will make it a death trap, backing cars all the way up over a frozen exit bridge. My daughters are driving on that exit regularly- this proposal is terrifying.
Not to mention, it would turn your first impression of Evergreen into an unwelcoming blight.

Not needed. Not a good use of the land. Historic site. Doesn't address community needs for affordable housing. Does not align with community plans.

We don’t need the pollution and traffic associated with a truck stop. There are plenty of truck stops around. Don’t ruin our quiet mountain community

This is planned for one corner of our sole evacuation route in North Evergreen! The fire department is on the other corner. Thousands of residents have no other way to access I-70 to evacuate to safety in the event of a wildfire.

This proposal puts safety at risk. The fire department needs good access and this would severely hinder access for first responders. It ruins the image of Evergreen

I first visited El Rancho as an 11 year old with my family visiting from Missouri. It was a big reason why I then moved here as an adult
And visited many more times. It would be a great loss to Jefferson County to see it disappear and that site become just another gas station. Does money ALWAYS have to win over history, memory, and sentiment?

The traffic is already bad at this point with a fire station access response will be affected negatively. I was a firefighter responding from this station.

I care about preserving our neighborhood.